Case makers bet on taller 4" screen for Apple's next iPhone

Third-party protective iPhone cases for a redesigned model with a taller 4-inch screen and a smaller dock connector have begun to appear online in anticipation of Apple's next-generation handset.

The new cases are now available for purchase form China's TVC-Mall.com, and were first publicized on Wednesday by Cydia Blog. In addition to a taller screen and smaller dock connector, the cases also show a headphone jack that has been moved to the bottom of the device.

The online store also gives customers a warning that it cannot "guarantee this product can be used in iPhone 5." Last year, third-party case manufacturers bet  and lost  on a redesigned iPhone and began selling products based on a design that never came to be.

The cases do not offer any new details on Apple's anticipated next-generation iPhone, as the design matches previous rumors, which have been supported by pictures of alleged prototype parts that have leaked online. Reports have claimed that Apple's sixth-generation iPhone will feature a 26 percent larger 16-to-9 display, along with a smaller 19-pin dock connector that will replace the 30-pin design currently found on Apple's iOS devices.

More leaked parts that surfaced online this week suggest the next iPhone will have a centered FaceTime camera, while the home button below the screen will remain unchanged. Numerous reports have also claimed Apple plans to adopt new in-cell touchscreen that will allow the display on the next iPhone to be thinner than its current glass-on-glass solution.

Industry watchers suspect that Apple will release the next iPhone about a year after the launch of the iPhone 4S, September or October. That would allow Apple to take advantage of the lucrative holiday shopping season, which helped result in record breaking sales of the iPhone 4S at launch last year.